12. Plague Doctors’ Masks

The beak-shaped masks worn by physicians treating plague victims weren’t worn until the 17th century, but they did exist. As face coverings designed to purify the air, plague masks were accompanied by a hat, cloak, boots, or pants, and often gloves.

Plague masks are believed to have been part of the uniform of sorts designed by Charles de Lorme (d. 1678), an esteemed physician during the 17th century. These featured a nose “half a foot long, shaped like a beak, filled with perfume with only two holes, one on each side near the nostrils, but that can suffice to breathe and carry along with the air one breathes the impression of the [herbs] enclosed further along in the beak.”

Perfumes and other sweet-smelling contents were intended to protect the physician from contracting the disease, as foul smells were believed to cause the plague.